Mikey wrote:practicing untimed at first is kind of what you should do..

who cares what your real score is timed if you're just starting out? you need to learn and dissect the test when you first start, and untimed practice is the way to do it. blind review is to be done after you've already practiced a shit ton and are doing PT's, and then once you blind review after a PT you see where your weaknesses still are and you practice untimed for those specific weaknesses.

untimed drilling is definitely not a waste of time unless you're a god and are already practicing in the 170's right off the bat.. I would say most (I'd even go as far as saying all) of the people I know who got a 170+ all did untimed drilling. def not a waste.

e: and of course people should time themselves eventually, but the point of untimed practice is to see the patterns of the test so you can get faster at doing it when you actually do end up timing yourself.

This 100%. I was baffled by the user saying that untimed drilling is a waste. A statement like that screams of laziness and ignorance. Or someone who scored 175+ on their diagnostic. I’m leaning towards the former.

And, yes: I never understood the weight TLSers placed on a diagnostic score. I never took a diagnostic test because I knew I would do horribly: prior to studying for the test, I had no idea what conditional logic was nor was I familiar with doing logic games or reading for structure. A diagnostic score can only be useful and somewhat accurate if the test taker has experience with conditional logic and reading for structure.

yeah, diagnostics for most people are a waste of a PT and waste of time, imo. for some it is helpful though. I knew someone last year who scored a 164 on their diagnostic and had trouble mostly with LG. and guess what he did untimed drilling for LG haha he got a mid 170's score and ended up with a full tuition ride in the T13.

I know his exp is just an anecdote, along with everyone else I know, but I know.. A LOT of people who have taken this test, and not one of them didn't do drilling.. haha

for the most part though, for most people, a diagnostic literally just says "HEY YOU NEED TO STUDY" which you already freakin knew.

but idk, everyone is different I guess? there's def a select few who truly don't need to drill as hard and only take PTs and BR because they're already decent at the test right off the bat. and to those individuals, I kneel and give them my first born.

Lmao.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

Sigh.

wtf

Yeah. Meanwhile, my ass has been studying off and on for about a year and half now for this test and I still don’t feel ready.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

Sigh.

wtf

Yeah. Meanwhile, my ass has been studying off and on for about a year and half now for this test and I still don’t feel ready.

I'm torn between totally wanting to be that dad in the future and thinking that mom is a goddamn monster. TBF tho, LG is pretty damn fun.

For people who have already taken the exam- did you scout out locations before you registered? Looking for parking, desk size, temperature etc... I had a few people tell me that they showed up at their test location and the desks where incredibly small and inconvenient.

I mean I was studying till I ended up here again.... rereading the justify the conclusion and assumption sections in the LR bible atm

Yeah I have the LR bible but I haven't opened it- so far I have preferred the 7Sage approach. I have found the LG bible helpful though. Maybe I'll get around to getting the Manhattan LR book too as it has been recommended.

I mean I was studying till I ended up here again.... rereading the justify the conclusion and assumption sections in the LR bible atm

Yeah I have the LR bible but I haven't opened it- so far I have preferred the 7Sage approach. I have found the LG bible helpful though. Maybe I'll get around to getting the Manhattan LR book too as it has been recommended.

I definitely recommend the Manhattan LR text. LR didn’t click until I read it; I was so upset because I realized I wasted so much time reading the LR Bible (and the Bibles in general). I don’t think the LR Bible did a thorough job of explaining the differences between Necessary and Sufficient questions because I didn’t realize you had to approach the two with completely different methods until I read the Manhattan LR text.

I mean I was studying till I ended up here again.... rereading the justify the conclusion and assumption sections in the LR bible atm

Yeah I have the LR bible but I haven't opened it- so far I have preferred the 7Sage approach. I have found the LG bible helpful though. Maybe I'll get around to getting the Manhattan LR book too as it has been recommended.

I definitely recommend the Manhattan LR text. LR didn’t click until I read it; I was so upset because I realized I wasted so much time reading the LR Bible (and the Bibles in general). I don’t think the LR Bible did a thorough job of explaining the differences between Necessary and Sufficient questions because I didn’t realize you had to approach the two with completely different methods until I read the Manhattan LR text.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

I have a friend whose mom had her doing logic games since she was a child... she only took one PT and scored in the high 170s. After, she did a little bit of RC drilling since that was her only weak area. She scored 179 on the actual test.

Mikey wrote:practicing untimed at first is kind of what you should do..

who cares what your real score is timed if you're just starting out? you need to learn and dissect the test when you first start, and untimed practice is the way to do it. blind review is to be done after you've already practiced a shit ton and are doing PT's, and then once you blind review after a PT you see where your weaknesses still are and you practice untimed for those specific weaknesses.

untimed drilling is definitely not a waste of time unless you're a god and are already practicing in the 170's right off the bat.. I would say most (I'd even go as far as saying all) of the people I know who got a 170+ all did untimed drilling. def not a waste.

e: and of course people should time themselves eventually, but the point of untimed practice is to see the patterns of the test so you can get faster at doing it when you actually do end up timing yourself.

This 100%. I was baffled by the user saying that untimed drilling is a waste. A statement like that screams of laziness and ignorance. Or someone who scored 175+ on their diagnostic. I’m leaning towards the former.

And, yes: I never understood the weight TLSers placed on a diagnostic score. I never took a diagnostic test because I knew I would do horribly: prior to studying for the test, I had no idea what conditional logic was nor was I familiar with doing logic games or reading for structure. A diagnostic score can only be useful and somewhat accurate if the test taker has experience with conditional logic and reading for structure.

yeah, diagnostics for most people are a waste of a PT and waste of time, imo. for some it is helpful though. I knew someone last year who scored a 164 on their diagnostic and had trouble mostly with LG. and guess what he did untimed drilling for LG haha he got a mid 170's score and ended up with a full tuition ride in the T13.

I know his exp is just an anecdote, along with everyone else I know, but I know.. A LOT of people who have taken this test, and not one of them didn't do drilling.. haha

for the most part though, for most people, a diagnostic literally just says "HEY YOU NEED TO STUDY" which you already freakin knew.

but idk, everyone is different I guess? there's def a select few who truly don't need to drill as hard and only take PTs and BR because they're already decent at the test right off the bat. and to those individuals, I kneel and give them my first born.

Ok, I know this thread is a text wall by now, but I want to clear this up. I posted 2 or 3 times about not spending time practicing sections untimed, but looks like what I was saying was not clear. The Manhattan books are hundreds of pages full of drills, mostly real LSAT Qs, so, in the context that I said tons of untimed practice is a waste, you're drilling, nailing accuracy, and learning the concepts for like 2 months before you start timed PT sections. Also, if you're doing the 7sage blind review method, you are tackling both accuracy and the 35min timing in each practice section. So, I'm not sure why that's "lazy / ignorant" or neglecting accuracy or never doing drills. Felt like I should pop back in to ease the flurry and bafflement around that assertion.

On the diagnostic point, I found it helpful to identify weaknesses a bit more specifically, and get a glimpse into taking a tough test for several hours nonstop, but yes, it should not be considered a very accurate measure of your score range. And hey, the lower it is, the more you can brag about your improvement jump . Happy studying now that the holidays are about over!

I have a four-day weekend coming up. I’ll be be finishing up drilling LG untimed and then I’ll start drilling LG from PTs 21-40 timed. (It should only take me about two days to re-drill LG from PTs 1-20 timed ten times each? I need to do that before beginning PTs 21-40.) I should be starting with untimed LR drilling next week as well. I’ll be drilling by type. I’m not sure if I should start drilling RC every other day as well. Any suggestions? RC will be my toughest section and I want to start on it ASAP.

(I’ve been solely focusing on LG drilling for about a month or so now, FYI.)

Last edited by olympia on Fri Dec 29, 2017 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have a four-day weekend coming up. I’ll be be finishing up drilling LG untimed and then I’ll start drilling LG from PTs 21-40 timed. (It should only take me about 2 days to re-drill LG from PTs 1-20 timed ten times each? I need to do that before beginning PTs 21-40.) I should be starting with untimed LR drilling next week as well. I’ll be drilling by type. I’m not sure if I should start drilling RC every other day as well. Any suggestions? RC will be my toughest section and I want to start on it ASAP.

(I’ve been solely focusing on LG drilling for about a month or so now, FYI.)

I have a four-day weekend coming up. I’ll be be finishing up drilling LG untimed and then I’ll start drilling LG from PTs 21-40 timed. (It should only take me about 2 days to re-drill LG from PTs 1-20 timed ten times each? I need to do that before beginning PTs 21-40.) I should be starting with untimed LR drilling next week as well. I’ll be drilling by type. I’m not sure if I should start drilling RC every other day as well. Any suggestions? RC will be my toughest section and I want to start on it ASAP.

(I’ve been solely focusing on LG drilling for about a month or so now, FYI.)

You're moving hella fast, why don't you take the February LSAT?

I won’t be ready. With my GPA, I need a 173+. I want to make sure I have this test down 105% before taking it. I work full-time and I intern during the weekends, so I definitely won’t be ready by February time-wise, and I want to take 20+ timed PTs before the actual test.